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Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury (born as Farrokh Bulsara) was a British singer and songwriter known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. He was born in 1946 in Stone Town, Zanzibar and died of AIDS in 1991 in London, England. In 1970, Mercury joined the band Smile, which, at the time, consisted of Brian May and Roger Taylor. A year later bass guitarist John Deacon joined as well. Mercury insisted on renaming the band "Queen" to give it a stronger, more regal connotation. This was around the same time he changed his last name from Bulsara to Mercury. He also designed the logo for the band. Biography Farrokh Bulsara was born on 5 September 1946 in Stone Town, Zanzibar to Jer and Bomi Bulsara, who were both Parsis. Farrokh was born with four extra incisors and he claimed that it gave him his famous four-octave vocal range. Farrokh had a younger sister named Kashmira, who was born in 1952. Farrokh spent much of his childhood in India, attending St. Peter's boarding school. This was when he started going by the nickname "Freddie", instead of "Farrokh". He also started learning to play the piano at age seven and developed the ability to instantly play music off by ear. When Freddie was twelve, he formed a band, the Hectics. One of his former band members recalled that he had a taste for Western pop music, which would become a large factor later in life. .]] In 1964, the Bulsaras moved to Middlesex, England to avoid the violence and persecutions occurring in Zanzibar. There Freddie studied art at Isleworth Polytechnic in London and after that, graphic art and design at Ealing Art School. During this time, he joined a Liverpool-based blues group called Wreckage. In 1969, Freddie graduated from Ealing with a diploma in graphic art and design. After graduation and after Wreckage disbanded, he joined numerous other bands, including the short-lived blues band Sour Milk Sea, which fell apart in early 1970. He also worked at Kensington Market with his girlfriend Mary Austin and at Heathrow Airport as a baggage handler. .]] Around this time, Freddie's friend Tim Staffell introduced him to Brian May and Roger Taylor, who, along with Staffell, made up the band Smile. Freddie soon became a very keen fan of Smile and when Staffell left the group to join a band called Humpy Bong, Freddie stepped up to become their lead singer. He insisted on renaming the band "Queen" to give it a stronger, more regal connotation. This was around the same time he also changed his last name from Bulsara to Mercury. On 18 July 1970, Mercury, May and Taylor performed their first public gig as Queen. The band then started auditioning different bassists, having them play with the band for a few months at a time. The three known bassists they tried out were Mike Grose, Barry Mitchell and Doug Bogie. In March 1971, the band finally settled on John Deacon, who seemed to fit well with the chemistry of the other members. designed by Mercury]] In a matter of time, EMI Records and Elektra Records signed Queen and the band produced their self-titled debut album in 1973. Before the release of the album, Mercury used his graphic design talents from Ealing to design the group a logo, which features a large "Q" surrounded by animals representing each of the band members' Zodiac symbols. After their debut album's huge success, their second one, Queen II, was then released in 1974. Queen II only took a bit over a month to record and yet it started incorporating more diverse genres of songs, such as blues, metal, folk and pop. This diversity would soon become one of Queen's most common traits. Mercury has said that "I hate doing the same thing again and again and again. I like to see what's happening now in music, film and theatre and incorporate all of those things." The second album included a full version of "Seven Seas of Rhye". " music video.]] Queen's success came to fruition after the release of their third album, Sheer Heart Attack, which was released in 1974 as well. However, their popularity soared even more after A Night at the Opera, which featured classics such as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "You're My Best Friend" and "Love of My Life". "Bohemian Rhapsody" is the band's most popular song, written by Mercury and lasting nearly six minutes. EMI initially refused to release the song as a single, especially Roy Featherstone, who loved the band but did not approve of the song. However, it quickly became a commercial hit and topped UK charts for nine weeks. Mercury also wrote "Love of My Life", which was written for Mary Austin, his ex-fiancée and best friend. External Links * See Freddie Mercury on Wikipedia. Category:People Category:Artists Category:Singers Category:Pianists Category:Queen Category:Queen Members Category:Former Queen Members